Parents & Students

Year 10 RE Curriculum

Students who haven’t opted for the RE GCSE

Year 10 students have one lesson of RE per two week timetable. This fulfils their statutory entitlement. Year 10 students have a varied RE curriculum following the SACRE guidelines. Part of their RE curriculum is the Young Philosophers Course, understanding and debating classical moral and philosophical problems, which allows them to strengthen their skills of analysis, evaluation and critical thinking in order to improve their attainment in all their other studies. Given that students have only one lesson per fortnight there are no CAT assessments or reports issued for RE.

Students should be aware that Christianity is one of the diverse religious traditions and beliefs in Great Britain today and that the main religious tradition in Great Britain is Christianity. This knowledge may be applied throughout the assessment of the specified content.

Students should study the beliefs, teachings and practices of Christianity specified below and their basis in Christian sources of wisdom and authority. They should be able to refer to scripture and/or sacred texts where appropriate. Some texts are prescribed for study in the content and questions may be set on them. Students may refer to any relevant text in their answers and AQA will publish a list of appropriate texts as part of the supporting material for this specification. These additional texts will not be required for study, alternatives may be used, and questions will not be set on them.

Students should study the influence of the beliefs, teachings and practices studied on individuals, communities and societies.

Common and divergent views within Christianity in the way beliefs and teachings are understood and expressed should be included throughout. Students may refer to a range of different Christian perspectives in their answers including Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant.

3.1.1 Buddhism

Students should be aware that Buddhism is one of the diverse religious traditions and beliefs in Great Britain today and that the main religious tradition in Great Britain is Christianity. This knowledge may be applied throughout the assessment of the specified content.

Students should study the beliefs, teachings and practices of Buddhism and their basis in Buddhist sources of wisdom and authority. They should be able to refer to scripture and/or sacred texts where appropriate. Some texts are prescribed for study and questions may be set on them. Students may refer to any relevant text in their answers and AQA will publish a list of appropriate texts as part of the supporting material for this specification. These additional texts will not be required for study, alternatives may be used, and questions will not be set on them.

Students should study the influence of the beliefs, teachings and practices studied on individuals, communities and societies.

Common and divergent views within Buddhism in the way beliefs and teachings are understood and expressed should be included throughout. Students may refer to a range of Buddhist perspectives in their answers, for example, Theravada, Mahayana, Zen and Pure Land.

The nature, use and importance of Buddhist places of worship including temples, shrines, monasteries (viharas), halls for meditation or learning (gompas) and their key features including Buddha rupa, artefacts and offerings.

Puja, the significance and role of puja/devotional ritual in the home and in the temple, including chanting, both as a devotional practice and as an aid to mental concentration, mantra recitation, use of malas.

Meditation, the different aims, significance and methods of meditation:

Samatha (concentration and tranquillity) including mindfulness of breathing

Vipassana (insight) including zazen

The visualisation of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.

The practice and significance of different ceremonies and rituals associated with death and mourning in Theravada communities and in Japan and Tibet.

Festivals and retreats and their importance to Buddhists in Great Britain today, including the celebrations, origins and significance of:

Wesak

Parinirvana Day

Assessment objectives (AOs) are set by Ofqual and are the same across all GCSE Religious Studies A specifications and all exam boards.

The exams will measure how students have achieved the following assessment objectives.

AO1: Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of religion and beliefs including:

beliefs, practices and sources of authority

influence on individuals, communities and societies

similarities and differences within and/or between religions and beliefs

AO2: Analyse and evaluate aspects of religion and belief, including their significance and influence